Jiang Nan, a full-time mother in Beijing, keeps a dozen or so cloth bags at home, carefully selecting one or two before heading out to get groceries. “Most of them were giveaways from advertising marketing campaigns, but

others had been handed out in the street by various environmental protection organizations,” she explained.

Since June 2008 China has forbidden the production,

sale and usage of plastic bags thinner than 0.025 millimeter (毫米), and retailers(零售商) are not allowed to provide free plastic bags to their customers, regardless of the thickness.

Many Chinese consumers like Jiang have learned to refuse plastic bags whenever possible in their shopping. “A plastic bag may only cost a few jiao, but it’s more about how bad they are for the environment,” Jiang said.

The plastic ban is for the most part well carried out in big cities, and has been distinctly effective in reducing white waste. On the first anniversary of the plastic ban Global Village of Beijing, an NGO environmental organization, shows that during the year of the ban the consumption of plastic bags fell by about 40 billion pieces in chain supermarkets alone, saving more than 1.2 million tons of petroleum.

However, enforcement shows considerably less muscle in smaller cities, towns and country-

side. In a remote town like Lichuan, the awareness of environmental protection is not as strong as that in big cities. Street vendors(街頭小販) worry that they are likely to lose customers if they charge them for plastic bags. Seeing no significance in the issue, local government often turn a blind eye to banned bag traffic in the market.

There are still those who don’t have an interest in living green. Cui Lin, another Beijinger, often forgets to bring a cloth bag when shopping, and has to buy plastic bags. “Anyway I think plastic bags are neater and cleaner, and I don’t mind paying a couple more jiao,” he shrugged.

Mrs Yu, a vegetable vendor in Lichuan County, Jiangxi Province, recalled that before plastic bags became popular in the early 1990s, Chinese people always carried a bamboo basket when they visited the market. “Plastic bags are more convenient,” she comments, and her view might be that of the tens of millions of people in the nation who still cling to plastic bags, paid or free. This is suggested by her trade where piles of plastic bags are still passed out every day.

49. In Paragraph 1, the writer uses Jiang Nan’s case to __________.

How did Jiang Nan get her cloth bags? 

51. Which is NOT the reason why some people still use plastic bags when shopping?

52. What message does the writer mostly convey in the passage?

John Blanchard was studying the crowd making their way through the station. He was looking for the girl with a rose whose heart he knew, but whose face he didn’t.

When reading a book in a Florida library a year before, John became interested not in the contents of the book, but in the notes penciled in the margin. The handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul and beautiful mind. He discovered the former owner's name in the front of the book: Miss Hollis Maynell.

He located her address and wrote a letter introducing himself. The next day he was shipped overseas to serve in the army. During the next year, they grew to know each other through the mail and their friendship developed. John requested a photograph, but she refused, saying if he really cared, it wouldn't matter what she looked like. When the day finally came for him to return home, their first meeting was suggested — 7:00 p.m. at the Grand Central Station in New York.

She wrote, “You’ll recognize me by the red rose I wear on my coat.” So now John was in the station to meet the girl with a rose.                                        

As a pretty and slim girl in green came over, John noticed her blue eyes like flowers in spring. He walked directly towards her, entirely forgetting she was not wearing a rose. As John came closer to her, he saw another woman with a red rose stood nearby. Well past 40, this woman had graying hair done under a worn hat. Seeing the girl in green walk quickly away, John felt as if he were split in two. He desired to follow that girl, but longed for the woman whose spirit had truly companioned and supported him. 

The woman looked gentle and sensible. John went to her, saying, “I’m Captain John Blanchard. You must be Miss Maynell. I am glad to meet you here. May I take you to dinner?”

She replied with a smile, “I don’t know what this is about. But the lady in green who just went by, begged me to wear this rose on my coat. She said if you asked me out to dinner, I’d tell you she is waiting for you in the big restaurant across the street. She said it was some kind of test!”

41. John was eager to know the former owner of the book because he______.

A. was very interested in the contents of the book

B. was impressed by the notes written by its owner

C. wanted to improve his handwriting

D. wanted to discuss the book with her

42. What happened to John after getting in touch with Miss Hollis Maynell?

   A. He served in the army abroad.

   B. He went overseas for vacation.

   C. He went on a business trip in New York.

   D. He visited Miss Maynell.

43. What do we know about the woman with a rose?

   A. She was Miss Maynell’s close friend.

   B. She was a waitress in the big restaurant.

   C. She was probably a passerby.

   D. She was paid to meet John at the Station.

44. Which would be the best title of the text? 

A. An Interesting Book                  B. A Woman With a Rose

C. A Brave Soldier                            D. A Love Test

I'm from the South Bronx. At 7, my neighborhood was the beginning and end of my universe. It was a small town to me. Everyone knew each other, so if you got into trouble in school, chances are your mom knew about it before you got home. I felt watched over and safe.

But just before I turned 8, things began to change. I watched two buildings on my block burn down. I remember seeing my neighbor Pito go up and down the fire escape to get people out. Where were the firemen? Where was the truck? Somebody must have called them.

That same summer, after serving two tours in Vietnam, my brother was killed in the South Bronx. He was shot above the left eye and died instantly.

People who could moved out of the neighborhood, and all I wanted to do was get out, too. I used education to get away from there and got good at avoiding the topic of where I was from. To be from the South Bronx meant that you were not a good person. It felt like a stain.

After college, I didn't want to come back to the South Bronx, but in order to afford graduate school, I had to. I was almost 30 and could only afford to live at my parents' home. It felt like a defeat, and I hated it.

At the same time, the city was planning a huge waste facility here, and no one seemed to care — including many of us who lived here. They were like, "Well, it's a poor community; what's the difference?"

I was very angry. It drove me to act. It moved my spirit in a way that I didn't know was possible. And it changed my beliefs — it changed the way I felt about myself and my community. I worked hard with others who felt the same way, and together, we defeated the plan.

After that, I realized it's just as important to fight for something as it is to fight against something. So we dreamed up a new park on the site of an illegal waste dump — and after many community clean-ups, along with $3 million from the city, we have one. And it's a glory. It was the seed from which many new plans for our community have grown.

Today, the South Bronx is no longer a stain; it's a badge(象征) of honor for me. I believe that where I'm from helps me to really see the world. Today, when I say I'm from the South Bronx, I stand up straight. This is home, and it always will be.

Paragraphs 2 and 3 make the readers believe ____________.

The author went back to the South Bronx after college because ____________.

The underlined sentences(Paragraph 2) imply that ____________.

What does the author want to convey in the passage?

It was a cold grey day in late November. The weather had changed overnight, when a backing wind brought a pale sky and a muzzling rain with it, and although it was now only a little after two o’clock in the afternoon the gray of a winter evening seemed to have closed upon the hills, surrounding them in mist. It would be dark by four. The leather seats felt damp to the hands, and there must have been a small crack in the roof, because now and again little drips of rain fell softly through, polluting the leather and leaving a dark – blue stain like a spot of ink. The wind came in, at times shaking the coach as it traveled round the bend of the road, and in the exposed places on the high ground it blew with such force that the whole body of the coach trembled and swayed, rocking between the high wheels like a drunken man.

The driver, muffled （裹住） in a greatcoat to his ears, bent almost double in his seat in a faint endeavor to gain shelter from his own shoulders. The few passengers pressed together for warmth, exclaiming all together when the coach sank into a heavier rut （車轍） than usual, and one old fellow, who had kept up a constant complaint ever since he had joined the coach at Truro, rose from his seat in anger; and, feeling with the window – frame, let the window down with a crash, bringing a shower of rain upon himself and his fellow – passengers. He thrust his head out and shouted up to the driver, scolding him in a angry voice for a rogue and a murderer; that they would all be dead before they reached Bodmin if he persisted in driving at dangerous speed; they had no breath left in their bodies as it was, and he would never travel by coach again.

41．What is the main image the author gives in this description?

       A．In terrible weather, a coach was running fast in mud with complaining passengers on it.

       B．On a cold and rainy day the coach broke and the driver was repairing it on the road.

       C．On a cold night the driver and the passengers felt very cold and struggled in the rain.

       D．The bad condition of the road resulted in the bad mood of the passengers.

42．Which of the following is correct according to the text?

       A．The windows were tightly closed, so the cold air was kept outside the coach.

       B．The spot of ink stained leather, so the seats felt damp to the hands.

       C．Most probably the roof of the coach was broken.

       D．There was a drunken man swaying constantly on the coach.

43．The expression “muffled in a greatcoat to… his own shoulders” implies         .

       A．the driver felt very cold and tried to change his seat

       B．the driver felt comfortable by doing in that way

       C．The driver felt very cold and tried to gain warmth

       D．The driver tried to protect his ears and shoulders

44．We can learn from the text that         .

       A．the coach was running slowly due to the bad weather

       B．a(chǎn)n old passenger who got on the coach at Truro was angry about the windows

       C．one of the passengers on the coach was a murderer

       D．the few passengers let out exclamations as the coach moved violently

I had never seen sand dunes（沙丘）before. If you go to the seaside in Britain, you may see some small hills of sand, but nothing very impressive. Of course, Africa is home to many beautiful “sandscapes”, but I was in China, so I went to Dunhuang.

   I had spent my first day looking at the beautiful Mogao caves. Now I wanted to experience something very different.

   I have been walking in Asia, Europe and America, but nothing prepared me for walking over hills of sand. Whenever I took a step up a hill, my feet would sink into the sand and move backwards. Sometimes it seemed as if I were moving in the wrong direction.

   I wanted to see the sunset so I had to climb to the top of the highest sand dune. The sun was beating down upon my back as I walked slowly over the sand. Some plants had managed to survive in the dry ground but not many.

   As I climbed higher, the hills of sand became steeper and my feet started to slip further backwards. I ended up with my hands and knees, crawling (爬行)upwards through the top. I just let go if I would fall the way down. But I refused to give up: inch by inch, I made my way to the top of the sand dune.

   When I got there I was amazed by what I saw. The sand formed a very sharp point, just like a knife-edge. One side of the dune was bathed in sunshine, the other covered by shade. As I looked into the distance, the same pattern was repeated on all of the hilltops, and the difference between dark and light was beautiful.

   As the sun began to sink, the shadows grew longer and the light became warm and orange. The wind had come to life and sand was blown against my legs as I walked along the dunes. Soon it was getting dark and I could only just make out the line of footprints that marked my journey to the top of the hill. I slowly made my way down to the bottom, my path lit by the dying sun.

65 The author probably went to climb the sand dunes __________ after he arrived at Dunhuang.

  A. on the afternoon of the first day       B. on the afternoon of the second day

  C. on the evening of the second day      D. on the evening of the first day

66. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

  A. Africa has many beautiful sand dunes.

  B. The author could see nothing but his own footprints on his way back.

  C. The author had seen some kinds of sand dunes before he visited Dunhuang

  D. What attracted the author most was that the sand formed a very sharp point.

67. The author got to the top of the highest hill of sand _____________.

  A. on his hands and knees all the way

  B. with falls to the bottom many times

  C. on his hands and knees in the last leg (一段旅程)

D. with a few rests all the way                

68. The author mainly wants to tell readers about_____________.

  A. the beautiful sunset         B. his experience of climbing the sand hills

  C. the joy of traveling in nature  D. the difficulty of climbing the sand dunes

Robert Owen was born in Wales in 1771. At the age of ten he went to work. His employer had a large private library so Owen was able to educate himself. He read a lot in his spare time and at nineteen he was given the job of superintendent (監(jiān)工) at a Manchester cotton mill. He was so successful there that he persuaded his employer to buy the New Lanark mill in Scotland.

When he arrived at New Lanark it was a dirty little town with a population of 2,000 people. Nobody paid any attention to the workers’ houses or their children’s education. The conditions in the factories were very bad. There was a lot of crime and the men spent most of their wages on alcoholic drinks.

Owen improved the houses. He encouraged people to be clean and save money. He opened a shop and sold the workers cheap, well-made goods to help them. He limited the sale of alcoholic drinks. Above all, he fixed his mind on the children’s education. In 1816 he opened the first free primary school in Britain.

People came from all over the country to visit Owen’s factory. They saw that the workers were healthier and more efficient than in other towns. Their children were better fed and better educated. Owen tried the same experiment in the United States. He bought some land there in 1825, but the community was too far away. He could not keep it under control and lost most of his money.

Owen never stopped fighting for his idea. Above all he believed that people are not born good or bad. He was a practical man and his ideas were practical. “If you give people good working conditions,” he thought, “they will work well and, the most important thing of all, if you give them the chance to learn, they will be better people.”

51. For Owen, his greatest achievement in New Lanark was ______.

A. improving worker’s houses                           B. helping people to save money

C. preventing men from getting drunk         D. providing children with good education

52. Owen’s experiment in the United States failed because ______.

   A. he lost all his money as he expected          B. he did not buy enough land for his future plan

   C. people who visited it were not impressed   D. it was too far away for him to organize it properly

53. Owen did the following things EXPECT _______.

  A. educate himself in his spare time                B. buy the New Lanark mill in Scotland

C. encourage people to save money                 D. improve people’s working condition        

A gentle breeze blew through Jennifer’s hair. The golden red sun was setting. She was on the beach, looking up at the fiery (火紅的) ball. She was amazed by its color, deep red in the middle, softly fading into yellow. She could hear nothing but the waves and the seagulls flying up above in the sky.

The atmosphere relaxed her. After all she had been through, this was what she needed. “It’s getting late,” she thought, “I must go home. My parents will be wondering where I am.”

She wondered how her parents would react, when she got home after the three missing-day. She kept on walking, directing herself where she spent so many happy days with her family. The road was deserted. She walked slowly and silently. Just in a few hundred meters she would have been safe in her house.

It was really getting dark now. The sun had set a few minutes before and it was getting cold, too. She wished she had her favorite sweater on — it kept her really warm. She imagined having it with her. This thought disappeared when she finally saw her front door. It seemed different. Nobody had taken care of the outside garden for a few days. She was shocked: her father was usually so strict about keeping everything clean and tidy, and now... . It all seemed deserted. She couldn’t understand what was going on.

She entered the house. First, she went into the kitchen where she saw a note written by her father. It said, “Dear Ellen, there is some coffee ready. I went looking.” Ellen was her mother but — where was she? On the right side of the hallway was her parents’ room. She went in. Then she saw her mother, lying on the bed, was sleeping. Her face looked so tired, as if she hadn’t slept for days. She was really pale. Jennifer would have wanted to wake her up but she looked too tired. So Jennifer just fell asleep beside her. When Jennifer woke up, something was different... she wasn’t in her mother’s room and she wasn’t wearing the old clothes she ran away in. She was in her snug bed in her pajamas (睡衣).

It felt so good being back home. Suddenly she heard a voice, “Are you feeling better now, dear? You know you got us very, very scared.”

62. What does “This thought” in the fourth paragraph refer to?

   A. The idea of going back home soon         B. The anxiety about her worried parents.

C. The feeling of being warm in her sweater.      D. The hope of getting back home safely.

63. How did Jennifer probably feel when she came back home?

   a. worried       b. crazy        c. tired          d. disappointed  e. astonished     f. excited 

A. a, b, c        B. a, c, e                   C. b, c, e                D. d, e, f

64. The underlined word “snug” in the last paragraph means ______.

A. clean and tidy         B. nice and expensive  C. small and old             D. warm and comfortable

65. What can be concluded from this passage?

A. In fact, Jennifer’s mother had been slept for several days.

B. As Jennifer walked towards home, she became increasingly scared.

C. When she found the garden deserted, she realized she got cross.

D. Having experienced a lot outside, Jennifer felt home warm and safe.

Last year, Jack Bleed cut through the bone of his ring finger while working. The 31-year-old resident of North Little Rock, Arkansas, waited for about six hours at a nearby medical center while the medical staff there called all over town---even as far away as Dallas and Memphis---to find a hand surgeon to reattach(重接) his finger. Finally, a willing doctor was located in Louisville, Kentucky. But even though Bleed had insurance, he would have to hire a private plane to get himself there, at a cost of $4,300. In the end, he charged the cost to two credit cards, and his finger was saved. His insurance company eventually covered the cost of the plane, but his experience makes people aware of the fact that trauma(外傷) care in the United States is not only geographically limited, but in many places, non-existent.

   Only eight states---New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Illinois, New Mexico, California, Oregon, and Washington---have local, fully functional trauma systems. The remaining states have partial systems, and 12---including Arkansas---have no trauma system at all.

   Although the President has signed a bill of $12 million for the purpose of supporting trauma care system nationwide, many in Congress(國會) are unwilling to spend government money for a service they think should be paid for by states, says Wayne Meredith, medical director for trauma programs at the American College of Surgeons. Meanwhile, many states have also failed to find the dollars to support trauma systems. To make matter worse, many people without insurance depend heavily on the emergency care services, placing a huge financial burden（財政負(fù)擔(dān)） on the medical centers that serve them.

   For the same reason, doctors, too, often go unpaid. They are unwilling to perform emergency care, worsening critical shortages of neurosurgeons, orthopedists, and hand surgeons---the very types of specialists Bleed needed at short notice.

   Supporting a trauma care system doesn’t take much. A half-penny sales tax in Miami-Dade County makes its outstanding system work. In Arkansas alone, says Wayne Meredith, a well—funded trauma system would possibly prevent 200 to 600 deaths each year.

If trauma care systems were to work well across the nation, experts say, many thousands of lives each year would be saved. “You don’t get much better return on your investment than that,” Meredith says. 

59. In Paragraph 1, the writer uses Bleed’s case to ____

A. make a comparison                B. introduce a topic

C. describe a person                 D. tell a story

60. Many people in Congress argue that trauma care systems should be supported by ____

A. each state                    B. the President

C. insurance company            D. the US government

61. The example of Miami-Dade County shows that______

A. its tax policy is admirable

B. a trauma system is not expensive

C. running a trauma system is profitable

D. sales tax is not heavy in small counties

62. Why are the present trauma care system in some states not satisfactory?

A. They are short of financial support

B. They are shared by all the states.

C. The doctor are not well-trained.

D. The hospitals can not provide low-cost services.

Mary went out at night. She never forgot the night when she met a robber many years ago.

That evening, she was invited to a birthday party which lasted until two o’clock in the ?morning. Without company Mary walked along the quiet street.

Suddenly from the shadow of a dark building a tall man with a sharp knife in his right hand ran out at her. “Good evening, lady,” the man said in a low voice, “I don’t think you wish to die here.”

“What do you want?” Mary asked.

“Your earrings （耳環(huán)）.Take them off!” Slowly Mary’s eyes looked down. She tried to cover her necklace with the collar（領(lǐng)子）of her overcoat while she used the other hand to take off both of her earrings, and then she quickly threw them on the ground.[

“Take them and let me go.” she said. The robber looked at her only feeling uncertain. He saw the girl didn’t care for the earrings at all, only trying to protect the necklace. He realized the necklace would cost more. So he said, “Give me your necklace.”

“Oh, sir. It’s not worth much. Please let me keep it.”

“Stop rubbish. Quick!”

With shaky hands, Mary took off her necklace. As soon as the robber disappeared, she picked up her earrings and ran as fast as she could to one of her friends.

The earrings cost 480 pounds and the necklace the robber had taken away cost only six pounds ten shillings.

44. Mary never forgot that night because ___________.
A. she was robbed of her necklace                                           B. she was robbed, but she fooled the robber
C. she had a good time at the party                                   D. she lost her earrings
45. The party ___________.
A. didn’t end at two             B. ended before two             C. lasted two hours               D. was over at two
46. She tried to protect the necklace because ___________.
A. she didn’t want to lose it                                             B. it was more important             

C. she liked it better than earrings                                          D. she would rather have the necklace lost
47. The story tells us that she was a ___________girl.
A. clever and brave              B. clever and beautiful          C. brave and careful             D. clever and careful

An 18-year-old student has won a local election to become mayor of his hometown in the US state of Michigan. Michael Sessions won by the slenderest of margins - just two votes put him ahead of his only rival, the incumbent 51-year-old mayor. Mr. Sessions attributed his electoral success to the votes cast by his parents. He will now have to juggle schedules between attending school and fulfilling his civic duties. He will attend his school classes between 8am to 3pm and carry out his new job as the elected mayor of Hillsdale before dinner at 6pm. He aims to deliver on his campaign pledges of increasing the contingent (小分隊) of full-time fire-fighters from three to four, revitalizing (使恢復(fù)元氣) the local economy and enabling townsfolk to air their views and grievances on town life.

Mr. Sessions was too young to enter the election when it was first announced – he turned 18 only in September, which meant he had just four weeks of campaigning. Although he is the youngest elected official in America, he cannot celebrate his success with champagne because he would be arrested for underage drinking. He ran for office with a budget of $700, which he made from his summer job of selling toffee apples. His position is largely ceremonial and he will not get his own office. Instead, he will receive an annual stipend of $3,600 to cover basic expenses. He starts his four-year position on November 21. Mr. Sessions has become an overnight celebrity since his victory and has already done the circuit of television chat show interviews.

42. When did the election probably take place?

A. August.        B. September.         C. October.       D. December.

43. How long will Mr. Sessions be the mayor of Michigan State?

A. One year.             B. Two years.          C. Four years.     D. Not mentioned.

44. Which of the following statements is correct?

A. Mr. Sessions won the election by two votes.

B. Mr. Sessions had many competitors during the election.

C. The new mayor will get an office after the election.

D. The new mayor doesn’t have to attend the school any more.